Page "Ode to the West Wind" Paragraph 13

It appears as if the third canto shows – in comparison with the previous cantos – a turning-point.

Whereas Shelley had accepted death and changes in life in the first and second canto, he now turns to “ wistful reminiscence recalls an alternative possibility of transcendence ”.

From line 26 to line 36 he gives an image of nature.

But if we look closer at line 36, we realise that the sentence is not what it appears to be at first sight, because it obviously means ‘ so sweet that one feels faint in describing them ’.

This shows that the idyllic picture is not what it seems to be and that the harmony will certainly soon be destroyed.

A few lines later, Shelley suddenly talks about ‘ fear ’ ( l. 41 ).

This again shows the influence of the west wind which announces the change of the season.